Author: Felix

Tracking the Bolt Action Home Guard Mark IV Tank

I am in the process of building a Bolt Action 28mm Home Guard force, I did want to add some armour to them with a Mark IV Male World War One tank put into service, even if it was merely as a mobile pillbox.

The Bovington Tank Museum has on display a Mark IV Male tank that was used just in this way. It was used in World War One and then presented to the Navy. When war broke out in September 1939, the Tank Mark IV (Male) number 2324 was refurbished for Home Guard duties.

Having constructed and undercoated the Mark IV Tank the next stage was a base coat of Army Green Spray from the Army Painter range. I then used a Humbrol Tank Grey 67 spray for the dark colour camouflage pattern.

For the tracks I used Citadel Gorthor Brown.

The blu-tak I used for the masking took a bit of the paint off.

Next step will be a wash.

 

Hawker Hart

The Hawker Hart is a British two-seater biplane light bomber aircraft that saw service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was designed during the 1920s by Sydney Camm and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. The Hart was a prominent British aircraft in the inter-war period, but was obsolete and already side-lined for newer monoplane aircraft designs by the start of the Second World War, playing only minor roles in the conflict before being retired.

Several major variants of the Hart were developed, including a navalised version for the Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers.

This Hawker Hart was on display at the Royal Air Force Museum London in London. The 13th off the production line, it first flew in 1931 but never saw military use. Under the civilian registration G-ABMR, it was used by Hawker in various roles, including testbed, demonstration aircraft and a camera aircraft. It flew throughout the Second World War and continued flying until 1971. Still airworthy, it was then transferred to the RAF Museum, on loan from Hawker Siddeley, Hawker Aircraft’s successor company. It remains there, painted to represent RAF Hart serial number J9941.

There is a Hawker Hart on display at RAF Cosford.

Vartijan Exo-Driller

The Vartijan Exo-Driller has been revealed over on the Warhammer Community website to accompany Squat Prospectors on their most dangerous digs

These suits of rugged exo-armour were originally designed to protect Squat miners in the most hostile environments – and the ash wastes definitely qualify. They’ve been upgraded over the centuries with heavier weapons and better defences, and Prospector gangs now bring them along to fight off Ash Waste Nomads or other hostiles trying to claim the prime dig sites out in the Necromundan badlands.

Very much a Squat terminator (or even dreadnought) this is a fun model and lots of potential both for and beyond Necromunda.

It is reminiscent of the Squat Exo-Armour of old. It does make me wonder what else we will see over the next few years.

 

 

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Basecoating the Adeptus Titanicus Manufactorum Imperialis

I have had the Manufactorum Imperialis box on my wishlist for a while now. So was pleased to receive the box recently as a present.

The Manufactorum Imperialis box allows you build terrain and scenery for your Adeptus Titanicus battle. I used one large and one small sprue in the first instance to construct the models.

I gave the models a white undercoat using a Citadel Corax White spray.

For the crane I sprayed the bottom half with a Citadel Leadbelcher spray, for the actual crane I used Citadel Zandri Dust.

I used Citadel Zandri Dust on the containers and some of the silos.

For the other silos and the conduits I used Citadel Leadbelcher spray.

Thunderbolt

The Thunderbolt was one of the three most important American fighters produced during the war and saw extensive service with the United States Army Air Force before its comparatively late introduction into RAF operational service in 1944.

This big and strongly built fighter-bomber, with its good low level performance and long range made an ideal replacement for the RAF’s Hurricane fighter-bombers operating over Burma. The RAF only used the Thunderbolt against the Japanese in South East Asia Command.

By 1944 air/ground co-operation had been successfully developed into a powerful tactical tool and RAF Thunderbolts in Burma quickly adopted ‘cab rank’ patrols available to attack any enemy ground target holding up the Allied advance. Directed by ground visual control posts, the Thunderbolts, with their heavy gun armament and 500lb bombs, created havoc amongst Japanese troop concentrations and their supply lines.

During the air battles leading to the re-capture of Rangoon, RAF Thunderbolts flew fighter escort missions with RAF Liberator bombers.

By the end of 1945 RAF Thunderbolt squadrons were re-equipping with Hawker Tempest Is but some units were sent to Batavia in an attempt to re-introduce Dutch colonial rule. Whilst there they undertook a number of bombing missions against Indonesian guerillas and rebel airfields.

Armadillo Improvised Armoured Vehicle

The Armadillo was an armoured fighting vehicle produced in Britain during the invasion crisis of 1940-1941. Based on a number of standard lorry chassis, it comprised a wooden fighting compartment protected by a layer of gravel filling the walls of the ‘fort’ and a driver’s cab protected by mild steel plates.

This vehicle was used by the RAF for airfield defence and later the Home Guard, making it an ideal addition to my Home Guard forces for Bolt Action.

Having constructed the model I gave it a white spray undercoat. After the model had it’s white spray undercoat and this had dried, I then undercoated the underside of the model with a black spray, before giving the top of the model a spray with British Armour Green.

I painted the unarmoured windows with black paint. The wheels were painted with Vallejo 70.862 Black Grey.

I then masked the model with blu-tak.

I then used a Humbrol Tank Grey 67 spray for the dark colour.

See the workbench feature on the Armadillo Improvised Armoured Vehicle.

Hawker Hunter FGA9

This Hawker Hunter FGA9 was on display at RAF London.

The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly developed Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet engine and the swept wing, and was the first jet-powered aircraft produced by Hawker to be procured by the RAF.

The Hunter was the first high-speed jet fighter with radar and fully-powered flying controls to go into widespread service with the RAF.

In 1958 the Royal Air Force held a competition to find a suitable type to replace its Middle East-based Venom ground attack fighters. Hawkers won with a proposal for a modified Hunter F6 and an order was placed for the conversion of a number of airframes. The new version was designated FGA9 to show its new role and the first flew in July 1959.

Adeptus Titanicus Manufactorum Imperialis

I have had the Manufactorum Imperialis box on my wishlist for a while now. So was pleased to receive the box recently as a present.

The Manufactorum Imperialis box allows you build terrain and scenery for your Adeptus Titanicus battle.

The Manufactorum Imperialis box has 234 parts to build 26 pieces of terrain.

There are quite a few ways to build the models. The pipework and conduits are a good example of the possible possibilities.

I put together one of the larger cranes.

I do like the small containers and vents.

There are various silos, storage containers and what looks like a Star Wars style generator.

I used one large and one small sprue in the first instance.

One consideration is how to use the terrain, as individual pieces or to base them, or to add them to a terrain board. So how do you use your Adeptus Titanicus Manufactorum Imperialis terrain?

Curtiss Kittyhawk III

This Curtiss Kittyhawk III was on display at RAF Cosford.

The Kittyhawk was the final development of the Curtiss Hawk line of monoplane fighters. During the Second World War it provided the Royal Air Force with valuable reinforcements in the Middle East at a time when British resources were overstretched. Over 3000 Kittyhawks were delivered to Commonwealth Air Forces.

First introduced into service in January 1942 a conversion programme began six months later to allow them to carry bombs.

The Royal Air Force continued to operate Kittyhawks in Italy until the summer of 1945 when they were finally replaced by North American Mustangs.

Known as the Warhawk in United States service, the British renamed the early P-40A, B and C models Tomahawks. In an effort to continue production the manufacturer fitted a more powerful Allison engine into a redesigned cowling and concentrated the gun armament in the wings; the resulting P-40D Warhawk was renamed Kittyhawk by the British.